


Guilt and Glass Houses

by marchare



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Bruce Banner is mellow, Bucky Angst, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes's Metal Arm, Canonical Character Death, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Flashbacks, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Guilt, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Jarvis is the voice of reason, Loss of Parent(s), Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, My First Fanfic, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, Obie was an asshole, Panic Attacks, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Torture, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark: King of Re-Branding, fixing Bucky's arm, he's not gonna judge, just kidding everyone's snarky, more like Tony SNARK, random movie references, seriously Tony did some pretty terrible shit, what if Tony wasn't angry about Bucky killing his parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:45:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1974672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marchare/pseuds/marchare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Terrible summary ahead!<br/>Two months ago Bucky turned up on Steve's doorstep. Now they're living and fighting with the rest of the team but Bucky still spends all of his down-time hiding out in his room. When his arm is damaged in a battle he is forced to go to Tony for help. This focuses on how he deals with being around someone other than Steve, being touched after Hydra, his guilt over his past actions, and Tony's reaction to everything.<br/>Tony's not what Bucky was expecting. His response to the news that Bucky killed Howard and Maria is unanticipated and his handling of the repairs are surprisingly tolerable.<br/>(Tony hints at Steve/Bucky, but there is no actual Stucky in this story. Neither one of them are functional enough for that at this point. There is background Tony/Pepper mentioned.)<br/>This has a fair amount of angst on Bucky's part and a lot of guilt about what he's done but has a happy ending.<br/>This is really just a lot of talking, nothing much actually happens. It's the result of me obsessing about this potential conversation since CATWS came out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guilt and Glass Houses

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing anything, so gentle feedback is appreciated.  
> I rated this Gen because it really is all talking. There are mentions of canon-appropriate torture, violence, and anxiety but nothing graphic. There's a fair amount of swearing. If I missed any warnings or anyone wants me to up the rating, please just let me know.  
> This is set post CATWS. It's slightly AU for Iron Man 3 because Tony still has the reactor and has rebuilt at least a few suits. All of the Avengers are living in the Tower (including Sam because Steve would so never leave him behind.) Rhodey and Pepper are mentioned but not seen because they have shit to do that does not revolve around these fools.  
> So I have been completely consumed by the idea of how Tony would react to the news that the Winter Soldier killed his parents. I couldn't help but think that (*spoilerly for the story) he would be relieved. If he knew that it wasn't an accident, then Obie would have been a real suspect and that would just make his betrayal a whole new level of awful. And honestly, if anyone gets the idea that you can change and become a better person, it's Tony Stark. (*end spoilers*)  
> Be warned, I write Tony the way I think, rambling and slightly manic. Abandon all grammar, ye who enter here.  
> Also, I have no idea how electricity or wiring works. I just hand-waved the technical stuff. They're fictional characters with tech that doesn't exist, so fuck it.

It wasn’t until they got back to the Tower that Steve realized there was something wrong with Bucky’s arm and he kicked himself. He should have known; he saw him hit that last Doombot, saw the arcs of electricity when he pulled his arm out of its chest. Something must have shorted out. Whatever the exact reason, now Bucky was holding it stiffly and he could hear a faint whirring when he moved.

“Hey, Buck! I think maybe you should have someone take a look at your arm- you know Tony’s been dying to.”

“It’s fine Steve. It’s nothing. I’ll take a look at it later myself.”

“You sure? Tony’s good with this stuff.”

“Yeah, no, it’s fine. Just got a bit of a shock is all. I can fix it.”

Steve didn’t want to push, knew Bucky was still uncomfortable around people- “Alright, well let me know if it’s still a problem tomorrow, yeah?”

Bucky nodded and ducked into his room. It had only been a couple of months since he’d turned up and he spent most of his time in there if they weren’t out on a mission. Every now and then he’d turn up in the kitchen late at night, but on the whole it was a little like living with a ghost. You sensed someone there, caught something out of the corner of your eye, found books and cups moved slightly, but never actually saw him.

Bucky leaned against the inside of his door and tried to flex the fingers on the arm. They twitched and made a grinding noise; ‘not good,’ he thought. He had never worked on the arm, or at least he didn’t _remember_ working on it. If it had problems when he came in from assignment they got fixed when he was in the chair or when they put him under again. They preferred working on him when he was out, fewer chances for people to get hurt. But, he could do this; he could figure it out- he had to, there was no way he was going to be able to let Tony open it up and not just lose it and that wasn’t an option. He had to stay Bucky. He. Had. To. A shudder ran through him as he remembered the bank vault again, tools poking at the arm, jolts of electricity running up his body, being strapped to the chair, biting down on the mouthguard and then there was just a ringing in his ears and…

He stilled, took a deep breath, repeated in his head “It’s 2014 and I’m Bucky Barnes. Steve is alive. Steve still needs me. We are in New York. I am not Hydra.” Over and over until his breathing evened out. He could do this. He went over to the desk by the window where he liked to strip his guns, grabbed his toolkit and got to work.

* * *

 

The next morning when he ducked into the kitchen early to grab something to eat Steve was already up, sitting at the table with coffee and the paper.

“Mornin’ Buck.” Steve said. “How’s the arm today?”

Bucky raised it and opened and closed the hand, it wasn’t as smooth as it should be and he could feel something inside still grinding but it was better and looked passible so he glanced over and said, “good as new.”

Steve raised an eyebrow.

“No, really. It’s fine. Just needs a little more tweaking. If I have any problems I’ll go ask Tony myself, ok?”

Steve smiled, “yeah, sure.  You don’t feel comfortable asking though you just let me know.”

Bucky nodded without meeting his eyes, grabbed an apple and skittered out of the kitchen.

* * *

 

“Tony, wait up!”

Tony slowed down and smirked, “What’s up Spangles? Miss me? I know it’s been a good 12 hours since you saw me last; I understand.”

Steve sighed and rolled his eyes, “No, I just wanted to ask you if you’d be willing to look at Bucky’s arm. It got damaged in the last fight and he said he can fix it, but if he can’t I thought you could take a look at it and…”

“Damn right I could.” Tony interrupted, grinning.  “I told you weeks ago that I’d give the Winter Sulker an upgrade and you told me to leave him be.”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to stave off the impending headache Tony seemed to generate. “And I told you no because you call him things like that. Really Tony?”

“Nicknames are a sign of affection Capsicle.”

“I’m serious Tony.  He has a hard time trusting people and if he needs help with it I have to know that you won’t get carried away.”

“Scouts honor Cap. I will be as good as gold. When your boyfriend realizes how horribly out of his depth he is, you just send him on down to the workshop and I’ll fix him up and put a bow on him for you.” Tony saluted and started back towards the stairs.

“Be nice!” Steve said to his retreating back.

* * *

 

No missions yesterday or today. That was good because the arm still wasn’t right. Bucky gritted his teeth and poked at the wiring again only to have a jolt of electricity shoot up his arm. Fuck, his vision greyed around the edges with that one and the buzzing in his head was back. Deep breath, relax Barnes, you’re not in the chair, no one else is here, that’s your hand with the screwdriver in it…

A knock at the door. “Hey Buck, you in there? You decent? You wanna go spar?”

Bless Steve for never coming in without permission. He closed the panel he was poking around in. “Yeah, come on in, Steve.” Snorted, “When have I ever been decent?”

Steve smiled as he opened the door and leaned against the frame. He really did try to give Bucky his space, wanted him to know he could set boundaries and have them be respected. The look faded when he saw what he was working on. Shit, was he still having problems and refusing to talk about it? He did that a lot at first, would get injured and ignore it until Steve noticed the bleeding, like acknowledging the pain was a luxury he had never had and it didn’t occur to him to do anything about it. The first time he had to patch Bucky up Steve had asked if painkillers worked for him, he wasn’t sure how whatever serum he had gotten worked, and Bucky just blinked and stared, saying “I don’t know.” That was when it really hit him, the kind of life Bucky had had since he went under the ice. The pictures and the files were awful, he hadn’t thought it could get worse but there it was. Three words and thought he was going to be sick. At the time Steve just swallowed and said “well, let’s find out, ok?”

Steve tried to smile again and asked “everything ok? You need a hand with that?”

Bucky looked down at the tool in his hand and shrugged “nah, it’s fine. Nothing to worry about. You wanted to spar?” Shit, he thought, he wasn’t sure the arm would work but Steve was looking concerned. If Bucky backed out he’d get suspicious.

“Yeah, no mission today so I figured we could go a few rounds.” Steve narrowed his eyes and stepped into the room, hefting the water bottle he had grabbed from the kitchen in his hand. “Got you a water, catch, “ he said, tossing it to Bucky. With the screwdriver still in his right hand he was forced to grab for it with the arm and the fingers didn’t close quite right, bottle dropping to the floor and rolling away.

“Damn it Buck! You’re not fine. Stop lying and let somebody help you. Tony has already offered to fix your arm,”

“I don’t need Stark’s help!”

“Well, it’s either you get help with your arm or I bench you. I can’t have you in the field with that kind of problem- it’s too damn dangerous!”

And that was the kicker wasn’t it? Bucky was a liability if he didn’t get the arm fixed and he wouldn’t put Steve in that kind of danger but he wasn’t sure he could control his reactions with someone working on the arm and that was dangerous too.

“Look, I know he’s an ass, but Tony’s good with this stuff and he’s happy to help. Just let him take a look at it, he won’t touch anything if you tell him not to. I’ll make sure he behaves himself.”

The look Steve turned on him was downright pleading. “Fine. I’ll talk to him. No promises,” Bucky said.

Steve smiled again, “Hey Jarvis, is Tony down in his workshop right now?”

“Yes Captain” the ceiling replied, and ‘damn’ Bucky thought, that never got any less creepy. He took a deep breath. He had to do this. Steve needed him to do this.

“Great,” Steve said, “let him know we’re on our way down.”

* * *

 

“Give me a sec to talk to him, ok Buck?” They were standing just outside the workshop doors. Bucky could see Tony inside at a workbench welding something. He was wearing jeans, sneakers, a black sleeveless tank and was the spitting image of his father. His only concession to the work he was doing seemed to be the goggles he was wearing. Just like Howard. Bucky had sudden flash of Howard’s smile and suit he wore that last time they went out to a pub. Before.

He shook off the chill that ran down his back and nodded to Steve. Steve clapped him on the shoulder, the real one, and stepped through the doors. They shut after him. Seems Jarvis thought this was a private conversation. Great.

Steve waived his hand for Jarvis to turn down the music as he stepped up behind Tony.

“Go, Go, Comrade Gadget malfunctioning, Penny?” Tony asked, as he spun around on his chair.

Steve sighed. He was acquiring a whole vocabulary of sighs just to deal with Tony. This was the ‘please, Tony, not now, this is serious, I need you to BE serious’ sigh.

Tony grinned, a hint of mania around his eyes, and rubbed his hands together. “Come on, Ken, bring in Soviet Barbie, I can’t wait to finally get to look at that arm. I’m gonna make it so much better, just you wait. He want rocket launchers in it? Cause I can totally do that! Rocket launchers, he seems like the sort of guy who would like that.”

“Tony!” Steve held up a hand, “Please, please, be calm. I need you to be calm about this. I’m pretty sure no one’s touched it since Hydra, so just, settle, ok? I need you to be a little less…YOU… about this and a little more, I don’t know, Pepper maybe?”

“Steve, if I could be less me and more Pepper, do you really think my life would be the way it is right now? Chill, I promised to behave, I’ll behave. I know how to work with brainwashed assassins, and wow, how is that really a phrase I have to use? Fuck my life, honestly. So bring him in already. Making him stand in the hallway while we talk about him can’t be making him any calmer.”

Steve looked at him for a moment longer, head slightly tilted, like he was waiting for Tony do something alarming, then turned and stepped out to wave Bucky in.

Bucky, ‘huh,’ Tony thought, ‘I’ve never seen anyone actually sidle into a room before.’

“Bucky Barnes! Tony Stark here, at your service. I don’t think we’ve ever actually talked when we aren’t on comms. Welcome to my workshop, a land of pure imagination.” Tony grinned, gesturing wide.

He could see Bucky looking over the equipment and something made him stiffen. He glanced over, it was the chair he used when he had to work on the reactor. Oh, yeah, Tony had seen pictures of the bank vault. This could be bad. Bucky was looking at the chair the way Tony had looked at scalpels and car batteries after Afghanistan.

Tony raised his hands slowly, keeping them well in front of him, the universal symbol for ‘I mean you no harm.’ “Hey, Capsicle 2.0, what say you have a seat over at that workbench?” He waived towards a relatively clean stretch of workbench with a stool in front of it, one with a clear view of the doors, walking around the far side and sweeping the debris off before sitting himself. Bucky reluctantly perched on the stool but seemed slightly more THERE with a straight shot to the exit, nothing restricting his arms, and the workbench between them. Steve just hovered by his shoulder looking like the world’s most photogenic mother hen. Bucky kept glancing back at him, trying to keep them both in sight. “Hey Spangles, don’t you have something to do? Somewhere else?”

Steve frowned, “no. I’m here to make sure Buck’s okay.”

This was going to be harder than he thought. “Steve,” Tony said, “Bucky will be fine. I know what I’m doing. You, however, are a distraction.”

Steve looked at Bucky- he was coiled so tightly Steve was surprised he wasn’t vibrating. “Buck,” Steve said, putting a hand on his shoulder, Bucky jerked at the contact but looked over, “do you want me stay? I’m happy to, but if I’m a distraction I can go.”

Bucky was torn, on the one hand if he lost it he would need Steve to contain him, on the other, if he did he didn’t want Steve to see it.

Tony watched Bucky as Bucky seemed to think about it, biting his lip. “I don’t need Steve here to keep me safe if that’s what you’re worried about. This is MY workshop. Between Jarvis and the suits there’s nothing you can do that I can’t handle.” Yup, that seemed to do the trick.

Bucky nodded, “It’s ok Steve. You can go. I’ll be fine.”

Steve gripped his shoulder a little tighter and his face seemed to fall but then he smiled, “sure thing. Whatever you want. I won’t be far and Jarvis knows where to find me if you change your mind.”

“Always, Captain,” Jarvis chimed in.

“Ok then, well, I’ll just, umm…” Steve stepped back and left while Tony made shooing motions.

When the doors closed behind him, Tony turned his gaze back to Bucky. “Alright Barnes, how likely are you to try and kill me if I touch that arm of yours?”

Now that Bucky only had one person to focus on he reined his attention in and stared at Tony. He evaluated the situation. He wasn’t in a chair, that was good, there were no restraints, also good, unless he lost it and then it would very bad. He licked his lips and looked at Tony. Tony was… different. He was usually all energy and movement and sarcasm but right now he was just sitting at the workbench quietly with his hands spread on top of it. Bucky could see the glow of the reactor through his shirt. He noticed suddenly how tired he looked when he was still. This whole situation was confusing.

“Why are you doing this?” Bucky asked.

Tony cocked his head and shrugged, “because it’s what I do. When you’re as good at destroying things as I am you get to be pretty damn good at fixing them too. You have to, if you want to have anything left.”

“But why me? You don’t owe me anything. What are hoping to get out of this?” Bucky didn’t understand why Tony would help him, after everything he had done… What did Tony want here? No one helped just to help, well except Steve, but Steve was the exception, Steve was the bright shining star of humanity. Tony was no Steve. Was he just trying to make Bucky vulnerable, hurt him when he couldn’t fight back? That would make sense, wouldn’t be a first, but Steve trusted him…It was very unsettling. He just wanted to know what to expect. The pain wasn’t so bad when you knew it was coming.

And that was another look Tony knew. The face of someone waiting for the next blow, who expected it and didn’t think to shy away.

“I’m not expecting anything. You’re a member of the team and you’re injured. I can help. And frankly, America fucking owes you so I’m just doing my part. Besides, if I make Cap cry Howard will come back from the grave and haunt me forever. So yeah, helping Bucky Barnes is just smart, karma wise.” Tony’s smile turned wry.

And there it was. The reason Tony couldn’t be trusted.

Bucky cleared his throat and looked down at his hands, “I killed them,” he whispered.

“Ah, um killed who? I’m sorry I’m gonna need you to be a bit more specific. I read your file.”

“Your parents, Howard and Maria. I killed them.” Bucky looked back up at Tony’s face, but instead of the anger he was expecting he just saw what looked like pity. 

Tony looked away and rubbed the back of neck. Sighed. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I know Hydra or whoever made you do a bunch of terrible shit but finding out you killed a friend can’t be easy. He used to talk about you, you know. Steve was always up on this pedestal, CAPTAIN AMERICA, in bright shining lights, but you were a regular guy. He thought you were clever, and funny, said you were the only Howling Commando who could give as good as he got. You never knew mom but I think you would have gotten along too. I mean she put up with Howard’s shit so you probably would have just amused her. So, I’m sorry. I’m sorry you had to do that.” He finally looked back to find Bucky staring at him, gaping.

“What? I’m trying to be nice here! I’m not ALWAYS an asshole. I know most of the time I am but I like to think I have some redeeming moments. Is this not working? We can just pretend I didn’t say anything, that’s fine, that’s a great idea, I love that idea, I’ll just work on your arm and we won’t talk and I won’t say anything else…” Tony trailed off and reached frantically for a screwdriver, something, anything for his hands so his mouth would stop moving.

“No, it’s just, I don’t understand. Why don’t you hate me?” Bucky was still staring at him like he had sprouted horns and started speaking backwards.

“Christ,” Tony said, scrubbing a hand over his face, “this is not the conversation I thought I would be having today. Look, it’s shitty for you, but for me ‘killed by brainwashed soviet assassin’ is the best option here.”

Bucky just looked more confused.

Tony ground his teeth. “Ok, at first I thought Howard just got plowed and fucking killed them both. So that was great, one last reason to hate dear ol’ dad, but then I read the reports and it was fairly clear that it was supposed to look like an accident but that it probably wasn’t, so I spent the next decade trying to figure out who had them killed. Before you showed up and the files were leaked my most likely suspect was a guy who tried to kill me a few years back. Since he was Howard’s best friend and my FUCKING GODFATHER this was, admittedly, a trifle upsetting. I mean, it’s one thing to try and kill me because I fuck up your business plan, but it’s a whole other thing to murder your best friend and his wife and then raise his kid with a plan to kill him too when the time is right. So, again, sorry, but ‘evil secret society orders hit on Starks’ is really kind of a relief. And I know I’m a terrible person for saying that but what the hell, I’m a terrible person in general so fuck it. And now that I’ve shared all of my feeeeelings, can we please stop talking.” Tony ran his hand through his hair and Bucky blinked at him but he seemed to relax a little at least so maybe this wasn’t quite the train wreck it seemed to be turning into. Still the kid looked awfully skittish and Jesus, how had Tony not realized how young he was? Oh right, he never saw him outside of battle. He looked older with a gun in his hands. Less lost. And hey, that was a cheery thought.

“The point is, I’m not mad at you. I have no reason to be. I just want to help, ok? Your arm is tech I haven’t seen before and I love tech, so really, letting me look at it is a favor to me, right? And you owe me. For rent and Steve’s ridiculous supply of punching bags if nothing else.” Smile like a normal human Tony, come on, you can do this, you are a charming person when you want to be. It seemed to be working. Bucky looked less murderous than he did when he sat down so hey, good job Tony. Way to be reassuring even though you’re a complete fucking head case. ‘Gold star for me,’ he thought. Now if I can get him to let me actually touch him we might make some progress on the whole BUSTED ARM issue.

“Alright, now that we’ve established that I don’t hate you or want to torture you, can I touch your arm?” Hands out, palms up, no tools yet, nothing up my sleeve.

“I won’t do anything without telling you first; I won’t open anything up yet. I just want to touch it and see what the metal is like. Ok? And I need you to tell me if anything I do hurts. I don’t want this to be painful, I think that would end badly for both of us, yeah? So right now I want to touch it and check your range of motion and see how sensitive your sensors are. Think you’re up for that?”

It took Bucky a minute to realize Tony was actually waiting for an answer. He wasn’t used to people asking first. He nodded and Tony grinned and made little grabby motions with his hands. Bucky extended the arm towards the other side of the workbench. Tony reached out slowly, telegraphing his intentions and took the wrist in one hand while the other stroked the metal forearm, feather-light.

“Still with me?” Tony looked up at Bucky.

Bucky swallowed. He could do this. This was nothing like Hydra. He nodded. Tony waited, hands stilling. “Yes,” Bucky whispered.

“Good. How much of this can you feel?”

“All of it. I can feel pressure and temperature difference. It’s not like with skin but I can still feel it.”

“Wow. Ok. Well this metal is pretty damn interesting. Does it conduct heat?”

“I don’t know?”

“Does it ever get hot or cold where it attaches? I would like to see how it attaches if that’s cool with you. Like this,” Tony let go of his wrist and reached up to tap the reactor, “I can feel the edges of the metal get cold sometimes in winter. Like cold dog tags against your chest but deeper.”

“Umm, it’s usually kinda cold? I think, I mean it seems cold but I still feel like my bones are cold sometimes so it might just be in my head?” Bucky stilled and glanced up. He hadn’t meant to say that, waited for Tony to react like Steve did, like another little piece of his heart was breaking but Tony just shrugged and said,

“Yeah, I wasn’t a big fan of winter after the cave. Who knew the desert gets so fucking cold at night. Why do you think I used to spend so much time out in Malibu?” Tony snorted and chuckled. “Hey, you ever want to warm up, I mean really warm up, I’ll send you and Steve out there for a week. Beautiful beaches and a hot tub on the roof. Bathing suits optional.” Tony winked at him. “You can’t beat the view and the ocean ain’t bad either.” He tapped the arm, “this thing’s waterproof right? You don’t short out in the shower or anything do you?”

Bucky had to blink and regroup. Tony had paused the stream of chatter and seemed to be waiting for an answer again. “No. It’s waterproof.”

“Great, yeah, you and Cap should totally have yourselves a romantic getaway. Be good for you both. The security’s top notch ever since it got blown all to hell last year so no worries there either. Hey, flex your fingers for me?

‘Wait’ Bucky thought, ‘what?’

Tony turned the wrist over, palm up and tapped,

“These work?”

Bucky tried to make a fist and the fingers slowly started to close. They were jerkier than they should have been and there was a faint clicking.

“Huh, I’m guessing they don’t usually do that? I mean I’m assuming it’s supposed to be quiet what with the whole assassin thing, yeah?”

Wow, did Tony ever stop talking? And how was he so cavalier about what the arm was made for? What Bucky did?

“I mean, this isn’t even gonna give you a smooth trigger pull. I’ve seen you shoot, there’s no way you can make the shots you do with it all twitchy.”

“Doesn’t it make you feel better if I can’t shoot?” Bucky blurted out.

Tony glanced up from where he was opening and closing the hand.

“Why would it? You’re a damn good shot and you’re on my side. Would you rather not be a sniper anymore? Cause I would totally get that, I really would. Like how I don’t make weapons anymore, sorta. I mean, I don’t make them for other people or people outside the team. And I made some stuff for SHIELD. Not weapons but it still didn’t work out so great so really my new rule is “Just the Avengers”, you know? Well, and Rhodey, but making stuff for Rhodey doesn’t count, that’s like making stuff for myself. Just not. And I would make stuff for Pep but she’s Pep. I mean, the whole world could go mad and I’d still make stuff for Pep cause she’s like the one fixed, sane point in my life. And she would never ask for anything bad anyways. She doesn’t like guns, she just wants a functioning espresso maker. Rhodey likes guns but he would never shoot me. Well, if I went all evil genius he might but I’m sure it would only be to wound and I would have it coming then. You ever think you might go evil? I wonder sometimes. I would be really good at it if I did. If you don’t think you’re going to go evil I’ll totally put a rocket launcher in your arm if you want.”

Blink again. This is exhausting. Does he just say everything that comes into his head? It’s hard to keep up. Was Howard like this? Bucky doesn’t think so. Thinks Howard was more sly than manic. “I was evil. There’s always the chance that I could go back,” Bucky ventures when Tony actually looks to him for a response.

“You weren’t evil, you were just drawn that way!” Tony smirks and waits for a response.

Nothing. Bucky looks back down at the hand. Tony’s manipulating the fingers one by one. He’s oddly gentle. It’s a metal hand and people don’t touch Bucky like that.

“Ok, well that’s a movie I’m gonna need you watch at some point because it’s a damn classic. Anyways, you weren’t evil. You weren’t anything. Evil is intention and desire and you didn’t have those, you had orders and programming. So you get a pass for that. And attacking people who sneak up on you isn’t evil either if you were worried. Even if they’re friends. Although friends should know better than to pull that shit given you're, well, you. So ignoring the past, any plans to take over the world or kill puppies or anything?”

Bucky wasn’t sure if he should be alarmed or amused by the way this conversation was going. Steve was always so careful around him, trying so hard not to upset him and here Tony was asking if he wanted to what, become a mass murderer? Again?

“No? Because I really think I could fit a rocket launcher in your arm. It would be a small one but still. Hey! Rocket Launcher! Wait, uh,” Tony suddenly looked uncomfortable, “you don’t by any chance have nightmares do you? I would if I were you, I do and I’m me, so… But like wake up and you have a gun in your hand nightmares?”

Bucky nodded.

“Ok, new plan. I can add a bunch of safeties so you can’t shoot the damn thing in your sleep because I really don’t want you to blow up the tower. I could give J override control as long as you’re in the building. That could work. J?”

“Sir. Perhaps you should focus on making Sgt. Barnes’ arm work before modifying it.”

Bucky twitched as Jarvis responded. He didn’t like the idea of a computer having control over him. Not again. Not after Zola. He started to tense up, maybe this was a bad idea…

“Whoa there, Buckster. Chill. No one is getting access to your arm but you. And probably Steve but only if he buys you a drink first. And me right now, but only as long as you let me. You’re fine. Anyways, J’s right, I gotta fix it before I can upgrade it. You ok? Think you can handle me grabbing some tools now? You need a minute or like some cocoa or something?”

“Cocoa?” Bucky focuses on taking a deep breath and unclenching his real hand.

“Whiskey? I don’t know. Something relaxing. I find scotch relaxing but Pepper made rules about ‘drinking and tinkering’ after the last incident, so I’ll abstain, but you could have a drink if you want. Would that help? You’re looking a little murder-y around the eyes again.”

“I just need a minute.” Bucky said. Tony immediately let go and Bucky leaned back. Deep breaths. He could do this. This was nothing like the last time. Tony would stop if he said so. He just did. Steve trusted Tony. Steve NEEDED Bucky to get this fixed. He could do this.

“You want to get up and walk around? I could put on music? Actually I want coffee. You want coffee? I also have really awful smoothies. Dummy makes them and they taste like pond scum but they’re really good for you and I’ve been told that I can’t live on genius and caffeine alone so I keep ‘em handy.”

“Do you ever stop talking? Jesus, you’re worse than Howard when he’s drunk!” Bucky’s eyes widened at his outburst and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

Tony blinked at him and burst out laughing. “I was wondering if there was anyone in there! Most people tell me to shut up way before now.” He got up and wandered towards the far wall where Bucky could see a coffeemaker. He picked up a mug and started gesturing with it, “Or try to kill me. Thanks for not going that route by the way.”

* * *

 

Steve was sitting in the kitchen fiddling with cup of coffee when Bruce walked in.

“What’s up Cap? You look like you’re worrying about something.”

“It’s ah,” Steve rubbed the back of his neck, “it’s Bucky. He’s down in the workshop with Tony.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow and waited.

“In the last battle his arm got damaged. He needed some help with it and Tony offered but they sent me away and now it’s been a half hour and I haven’t heard anything. And Tony is,” Steve gestured at the air, “you know and Bucky doesn’t know anyone other than me really and I’m worried.” Steve slumped down into his seat and looked back at Bruce. “Plus the last people to touch his arm were Hydra so…”

“You’re worried Tony will push him and Bucky will snap.”

Steve sighed, “yeah.”

“Steve,” Bruce took his glasses off and wiped them with his shirt, “Tony is an impulsive asshole and he pushes buttons like it’s his job but, speaking from experience, he’s got good instincts when it really matters. And he has a unique understanding about what might be triggering in this particular case.”

Steve stared at him blankly for a minute, picturing the vault.

“The reactor…” Bruce prompted.

“OH. Right, that happened when he was captured didn’t it?”

“He woke up with a hole in his chest hooked up to a car battery in a cave. Caves in Afghanistan not being known for their quality anesthesia I imagine it was as bad as it sounds. Then add in torture. I don’t know the details because he still doesn’t talk about it but I suspect he’ll be sensitive to Bucky’s needs in this particular situation. As soon as it’s over, he’ll go back to being an ass.” Bruce shrugged and put his glasses back on. “That’s Tony for you. Besides, if it all goes horribly wrong, Jarvis will tell us.”

“That I will Dr. Banner. Right now Sir and Sgt. Barnes are taking a coffee break. So far, no violence. I will notify you the instant that changes, Captain.”

Steve relaxed a fraction at the announcement. He looked at Bruce for a minute, “you want to maybe watch tv or something? I can’t just sit here anymore.”

“Sure, we can watch the next movie on your list.” Bruce smiled.

“Thanks.”

* * *

 

Bucky watched as Tony drained a second cup of coffee in as many minutes. “Isn’t that hot?”

Tony paused and looked over, contemplating for a minute. “No. It’s probably from this morning. Or last night. Not sure. Still caffeine though.” He shrugged, refilled his mug and wandered back over. “Okay, you sure you don’t want to get up and wander or drink something? You’re still looking at me like a cat expecting to be thrown in a bathtub.”

Bucky shook his head and tried to look calm. He could do this. This wasn’t like the bank vault and Tony wasn’t Pierce. Deep breath, in, out.

Tony looked at him for a minute and set his mug at the end of the workbench. “Right, so here’s how this is gonna go then. I don’t want get stabbed and I’m hoping you don’t want to stab me,” he lifted an eyebrow and waited until Bucky shook his head again, “great, I’ll add you to the list of non-stabbing friends. J, note him on the list. Don’t worry, the list isn’t set in stone. I started it to keep track of Romanoff and whether or not I should avoid her on any given day. So, in order to facilitate keeping your place on the list, I’m going to make this as easy as I can. I’m guessing Hydra’s not much for explaining what they’re doing. More a torture and make demands kind of group, aren’t they? Not me. Pepper says ‘communication is key to good relationships, and also not making people want to kill me’ so this is me communicating. I’m going to explain everything before I try it. You think you aren’t up for it or you need a minute you tell me. You need more information, you tell me. You want take a break to go scream in a corner, that’s cool, I get it, just give the word. You don’t have to explain anything; ‘yes, no, stop’ are fine. I’m not a therapist; I don’t need reasons. I’m not psychic though so you gotta say this shit out loud. Are you with me so far?”

Bucky glanced up from the workbench. Tony was standing on the other side, still again, hands in plain sight. “Yes.”

“Great. First thing I’m going to do is get tools. I’m just going to set them out, not use ‘em yet. You want to check them out let me know.” Pause.

“Ok?” Bucky couldn’t get used to being expected to respond. The Asset didn’t have to respond; it didn’t matter what he thought or wanted. People don’t ask furniture if it wants to wants to be refinished; they just do it.

“Right. You better with music or quiet? The sound of tools gonna bother you?” Tony was grabbing things off of various benches and laying them out in the middle of the workbench.

“I don’t know?” Bucky answered, watching. He was sure he was supposed to have an opinion on this, like when Steve asked what he wanted to eat. He waited for Tony to be disappointed.

“That’s fine,” he said, waving a screwdriver, “I doubt Hydra played AC/DC and I like it so we’ll put something on in the background. If it bothers you we can just turn it off. J, music!”

“Yes sir. Am I correct in assuming something less ear-spitting than usual might be preferred?”

“Har har. You’re starting to sound like Steve. That’s not allowed. I programmed you; you HAVE to be on my side. Keep it quiet though, I still need to be able to hear him mutter.”

Tony pointed at Bucky, “You do you know. Mutter. You’re allowed to talk. There’s no one else down here to hear you. No spies in the airvents today; I fumigated. And Barton’s out of town, freaky little carnie that he is.” He rolled his eyes. “He’s the reason people use the phrase ‘bless his heart.’” Tony grinned, “no one says that about me; they just call me a bastard.” He finished setting things down and sat. “So, not to make this awkward and I totally dig the assassin chic look, very dashing, I get why Steve’s a fan, but do you need to keep your shirt on for this? Because I can work on your hand and forearm, but it would be helpful to get the whole picture and see how it attaches.” When Bucky stiffened Tony held up his hands, “scratch that-what if you take your shirt off; I look at your shoulder, no tools, and then you put it back on before I tinker. Would that be better?”

Bucky thought about it and grimaced. No one saw him with his shirt off anymore- clothes were armor; he didn’t even like taking it off when Steve had to patch him up. His body wasn’t pretty and he knew it, could tell by the way Steve had looked the first time Bucky had changed in front of him, but he saw Tony’s point. It was just a little too close to being told to strip and get in the chair. He wasn’t sure he could do it. He looked down at himself- black cargo pants, black boots, black t-shirt. He looked at Tony again.

“What if I wore something sleeveless?” Bucky ventured.

“Great idea!” Tony clapped his hands. “J, do I have any clean spares down here?”

“Yes sir. I believe you will find one in the cabinet next to the couch. It should be on the shelf above the blanket. You and Sgt. Barnes are close enough in size that it will fit.”

Tony got up and headed off to the back of the workshop, returning a minute later with something soft and black in his hands.

“It even goes with your look!” He tossed Bucky the shirt and turned around. “Bathroom’s over there,” he said gesturing, “if you prefer.”

Bucky shrugged and changed. He wasn’t used to privacy. “You can turn around. I’m not a prude. They used to strip me to work on me. You can see most the shoulder now. You need to see more just move the shirt.”

Tony turned around and stared for a minute.

“I, uh, I know it’s not pretty.” Bucky said, looking down again.

“Huh? Oh, no that’s not what I’m looking at. I’m trying to figure out how in the hell they managed to do that 40 years ago. The technology didn’t exist. Shit it still doesn’t. You cool if I come over to your side of the table and take a closer look? I’m a gentleman- I’ll ask before I touch.” Tony winked when Bucky made eye contact.

“You know, I’m a little disappointed you don’t blush the way Steve does. Not surprised mind you, Howard told _a lot_ of stories about your squad, but disappointed. I was hoping easily embarrassed was an elderly super-soldier thing. Oh well.” Tony grinned.

Bucky let out a low chuckle, relaxing again and said, “Nah, that’s a Steve thing. Always was. You can come over here. Still not going to stab you.” He shifted and asked, “Do you need me to sit?”

Tony walked up to him and said, “You can if you want. If it makes you feel better to stand that’s fine too. You’re not seven feet tall; I can manage either way.” He peered more closely at where metal joined flesh.

Bucky opted to lean against the workbench. The Asset never got to do that. It was safe. Being allowed to wear clothing and having the music play lightly in the background further reinforced where he was. He was beginning to think that this was do-able.

“Hmm…” Tony hummed under his breath, leaning in. “Am I good to touch you? I want to move your arm around and try to figure out how the joints and shoulder work. I promise my hands aren’t cold.” He made a show of rubbing them together.

Bucky took a breath, exhaled. “Yeah. Go ahead.”

Tony’s eyes lit up and he put one hand on Bucky’s upper arm, the other on the shoulder. “Raise your arm.”

Bucky raised it. Tony’s brow creased. Tony moved his hand down to the elbow, cupping it lightly. He lifted the arm up and down several times, shifting the hand on the shoulder slightly each time, like a doctor listening to a patient breathe.

“Huh,” he said finally, lowering the arm again. “So I’m guessing that I should not be feeling whatever the hell is grinding in there, right? Like, it doesn’t normally do that?” He didn’t look up, but waited for an answer while he inspected the plates.

“No. It doesn’t usually do that.”

“Alright. Well then we should fix it. Does it hurt? When it grinds, can you feel that?” Tony asked.

“Umm. I don’t think so? I can feel it but it’s sorta like when a joint grinds? I guess maybe it’s uncomfortable?” Bucky wasn’t sure. He didn’t have a good grasp on comfortable yet and pain was still tricky. Steve usually noticed injuries before he did.

Tony looked up at that, narrowed his eyes, and cocked his head. “Do you know when things hurt? Say you stub your toe- would you automatically go ‘ow’ and hop on the other foot or would you look at it for a minute and have to think about it to know if it was broken?” He had moved on to slowly bending the elbow back and forth.

Bucky broke eye contact. “Think about it,” he mumbled.

“Right then. I’m not trying to pry and I read your file but it was patchy. Tell me the first thing that comes to mind when you think of pain. I need a baseline here,” Tony said.

“The chair. Being wiped. When they cut my arm off,” Bucky responded immediately.

Tony winced. Stopped moving the arm, just gently touched it. Asked quietly, “were you awake for all of that?”

“Yes.”

Tony exhaled slowly and absentmindedly reached up to rub the reactor. “That’s rough. See the problem is you get used to a certain level of pain and anything less than that doesn’t really register. So you break your toe and you don’t notice because it’s so far below what your brain classifies as ‘pain.’ Unfortunately your toe is still broken and still needs to be taped. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but if you aren’t already doing after battle checks on yourself you should be. Or Steve can, that would probably be better ‘cause it’s hard to check your own back and head, but whatever, that’s up to you. But you need to at least do a cursory once over, just to make sure you’re not bleeding from somewhere you didn’t notice. Shit, I’d be dead without Jarvis’ monitoring; I get rattled around pretty good sometimes but don’t notice ‘til the adrenaline fades, you know?”

Bucky nodded.

Tony stopped rubbing his chest and went back to examining the way the plates overlapped on the shoulder. “Yeah. So that’s a thing you should do. I know you got some knock-off version of the serum so you heal up decent, but you need patching up you can’t do yourself and Steve isn’t around, I can give you a hand or fetch Bruce. Hell, he’s done actual doctoring! But if he’s all Hulk-y or something, I have a working knowledge of basic triage. And J will tell me if I’m about to do something stupid or dangerous. Won’t you J?”

“Always, Sir. You probably won’t listen but I will always inform you. Though, Sgt. Barnes, you should know he’s much better with other people’s safety than he is his own.”

Tony rolled his eyes and Bucky thought of Steve. “I’m familiar with the type,” Bucky said softly.

“Whelp,” Tony said, “this is a helluva piece of hardware but I can do better. Not that I had any doubts mind you, it’s just nice to have evidence. You okay if I poke at where it attaches? No tools or anything.”

Bucky met his eyes again and nodded. Tony moved his hands up to Bucky’s neck and chest; they felt calloused, just slightly cool from the metal. He was careful to keep them in sight, together, nothing to suggest choking. Bucky held very still.

“The scarring could be worse. That helps. How’s the feeling here?” He pressed lightly where skin met metal.

Bucky frowned and concentrated. “I can feel everything you’re doing. I don’t think it hurts?”

“Great. That’s good. That’ll make this a lot safer. If you can feel what’s going on it’s easier to catch when something’s wrong.” Tony slid his hands back to the metal, touching the star. “You ever want a new paint job, let me know. I’m very good at re-branding. Sorta my thing these days. And now it’s time to pop the hood. So how do you want to do this? It’ll be easier if I can sit next to you but if you need the bench between us or to stand I can work around it. Whatever makes you the least stabby.”

Bucky took a minute to assess the situation. Tony had been touching the arm, and Bucky, for a good 15 minutes by now and he was still in control. It wasn’t like with Steve, where he knew Steve would do anything, would fall, rather than hurt him, but it wasn’t bad either. Tony was careful, gentle, going out of his way to make Bucky feel at ease. He hadn’t expected that; no one treated the Asset like that, and he knew he wasn’t _there_ anymore but he thought Steve must be the exception, not the rule. He had been with everything else. Even what he remembered from the war wasn’t like this. This felt different, almost personal.

“This isn’t how the medics used to act,” Bucky said frowning, “even before Hydra, in the war I mean, this isn’t how it used to go. What’s different?”

“I’m prettier? No? Ahh, it’s probably that medics are usually focused on triage and I’m focused on keeping you calm. Fixing your arm is second and I can only do it if I can keep you here. So, you know, I explain shit and try not to crowd you, leave an escape route open, that kind of thing. Is it working? Because Steve didn’t seem to have a whole lot of faith in my ability to be tolerable.”

“It is. Working, I mean. I think it is. I didn’t think I’d make it this long.”

“Great. I figured if I combined my set of ‘ways to not piss off trigger-happy agents’ with my list of ‘shit I hate when doctors try’ I’d have a good baseline. Add in a dash of ‘flashbacks 101’ and voila! Tony Stark’s Patented Method for Dealing with Brainwashed Assassins. Plus I share lab space with the Hulk and, contrary to popular belief, I do not actually have a death wish, at least not right now, that’s so last year, so I’m not completely unable to manage my behavior. Don’t tell anyone though. That’s our little secret. I fix your arm and you never, ever, tell anyone that I was anything less than my regular obnoxious self the entire time. Great for both our reps really. You get major props for self-control and I don’t have to deal with Steve doing that horrible fond look he does when he thinks I’m not paying attention. Saw it a lot after New York. Just awful really. He hugged me. Pepper hugged me. Well, slapped, but then hugged. Shit, _Rhodey_ SALUTED me. Ugh. Never doing that again and not just because of the debilitating panic attacks. No more noble gestures from me.”

“Didn’t you save the President last year? I thought Steve mentioned something about that?” Bucky asked.

“Well yeah, but I was also saving Pepper and I was sufficiently sarcastic that no one got all sappy about it. That’s the secret to great super-heroing, by the way, snappy one-liners. Master the art of the snappy one-liner and you’ll be set.”

“Anyhow, are we sitting or standing here champ? Dealer’s choice.” Tony looked at Bucky for an answer.

“I think I can do sitting? Just, uh, just keep talking to me? No one ever talked to the Asset.”

Tony snorted, “talking will never be an issue with me kid. Alright, plant yourself on that stool and we can get started.”

Tony moved everything closer to the edge of the workbench, sat, paused, and chuckled, “J, update Mr. Rogers that it’s still a lovely day in the neighborhood.” 

“Yes sir.”

* * *

 

Upstairs, the movie paused.

“Captain Rogers, Sir has asked me to inform you that things are progressing well. He and Sgt. Barnes have not come to blows and Sir is about to open his arm up. They seem to be getting along.”

Steve looked surprised.

Bruce smiled, “See, they’re fine. Nothing to worry about.”

“Tony asked me if I thought Bucky would like a rocket launcher in his arm. I’m not sure “getting along” is significantly better than the alternative.” He sighed.

Bruce shrugged pragmatically. “If Tony tries anything too crazy Jarvis will tell us or have Pepper put a stop to it. You know the phrase ‘don’t borrow trouble’? Try to adopt that as your motto. That and yoga get me through the day more often than not.”

* * *

 

“Alright Toto. Moment of truth. Wait, this isn’t booby-trapped, is it? I forgot to ask about that. I’m not gonna get zapped or anything am I? It’s not full of spiders?”

“No. I opened it this morning. No zapping. No spiders. Why spiders? Toto?”

“Spiders are scarier than moths. And I’m trying to come up with references that Capsicle will get. He knows The Wizard of Oz.” Tony had rolled over a tray for Bucky to rest the arm on, cushioned by his shirt.

“The rubber mat under your shirt will dampen any electrical charges I send through your arm. This thing I’m clipping to your pinky and then to the tray, it’s a grounding wire. Power should go down and out, not up and in. The tray is grounded. I’m grounded through my shoes. Proprietary Stark tech of course. The goal here is not to zap you at any point, but if you feel any buzzing or electrical jolts, let me know. It’s not good for the wiring and it’s probably not going to help me not get stabbed. I’m going to open you up now and check stuff. Ok?”

“Sure. Why am I the _dog_?”

Tony opened the forearm panel and started poking around. “Well Steve is Dorothy. Who else would you be?”

“I don’t know, the Tin Man. Maybe the Wicked Witch. Who are you?”

“ _I’m_ the Tin Man, _obviously_. Come on, the Suit? A non-functioning heart? Can’t be anyone else. And you’re not scary enough to be the witch. Nope, sorry, you’re Toto. Bruce is the Cowardly Lion, and Thor’s the Scarecrow.”

“Do we have a witch? Because I think I’m way too scary to be the dog. And people want to melt me.”

“Yeah, we do. Natasha. Most of Congress wants to melt her. And she is not on the ‘non-stabbing friends list’ so you just have to suck it up and be the dog.”

Bucky smiled. It still felt unnatural and Tony was working on the arm but he couldn’t help it. This had to be the most absurd conversation he’d had in what, 70 years?

“Alright, if she’s the witch, who’s Barton?”

“Easy. A flying monkey. Next?”

Bucky actually chuckled at that. “Coulson?”

“The wizard. ‘Pay no attention to the agent behind the curtain.’”

“Fury?”

“He’s the fucking tornado.”

“But Steve isn’t trying to melt Natasha.”

“Yeah, he started out as Glinda, more of a Wicked interpretation you know, friends who wanted the same thing but went about it very different ways. The Power of Propaganda and all that but then you turned up so he was recast.”

“Do we still have a Glinda?”

Tony had switched tools and was testing various connections as he answered. “Going back to the whole wholesome, ray of sunshine, floats in to help reading of the character, yeah. Sam.”

“Fair enough, I can see that. What about the people you were talking about earlier? Ms. Potts and Col. Rhodes? Are they part of your elaborate fantasy world too?”

“Pepper and Rhodey? They’re Aunty Em and Uncle Henry. They’re reality. Home.” Tony paused and looked up at Bucky.

“Alright, I need to solder some new connections. These are all loose. And it looks like you were just poking around in here with a screwdriver. Gah. Don’t do that. Ever. Seriously, when you do that the gods of electronic gadgets cry. Am I good to go or do you want a minute?”

“I’m fine with the fixing. I’m still not okay with being the DOG.”

Tony grabbed his soldering iron and bent back over the arm.

“Dude, Steve would carry you around in an actual basket if he could. And he’s so Dorothy in all the best and saddest ways so this, right here, is a losing battle.”

Bucky focused on talking and not what Tony was doing. He could feel warmth but it wasn’t painful. It wasn’t like when he worked on the arm either; it was gentle, almost like butterflies settling and taking off. “Best and saddest?”

“Wants to save everyone? Wishes he could go home? You’re the only thing he knows in this new, strange land and he would go to the ends of the world to get you back? Dorothy and Toto, pal.”

“And that’s that.” Tony set the soldering iron back in its stand. “Was any of that uncomfortable or painful?”

“No. Not at all actually.” Bucky replied.

“Great.” Tony clapped his hands together. “Let’s see if that fixed the clicky finger issue.” He picked up the hand with his thumb on the palm and placed his other hand just under the open panel. “Open and close, slowly please.”

Bucky made a fist. Smooth. No clicking. It felt like it was supposed to. He looked up at Tony, startled. “You fixed it.”

“Less surprise next time. I AM a mechanical genius. I could fix fried circuits and loose connections when I was in grade school. But yes, I fixed it. And you haven’t tried to kill me yet so it’s gold stars for both of us. How are you feeling? You actually look more like a normal guy than a crazed assassin right now, so that’s reassuring but Natasha stabbed me with a needle while looking like a mild-mannered secretary so I try not to judge a book by its cover when it comes to people who can kill me. I mean, that’s just a good policy in general. I get sued a lot less when I don’t make assumptions about people. So, check in time. On a scale of: we’re buds, let’s get a beer to, mortal enemies, I’ll kill you where you stand, how are we?”

“I’d say we hang out and you’re that annoying, mouthy guy everybody wants to deck but doesn’t for some reason. Probably because you bring the good booze.”

“I can live with that. Actually I DO live with that. You want a break or should I move up to your shoulder now?”

“I’m okay. You can work on the shoulder.”

“Super. Again, gonna pop the hood and poke around first.” Tony removed the panels and started checking wires.

“So, what do you want to talk about now that I’ve shared my brilliant Wizard of Oz theory? You like sports? I think Steve likes baseball. No, scratch that, I can’t pretend to care enough to carry that conversation. And I have been, carrying the conversation I mean. Not a big talker, are you?”

“Compared to you, no one is a big talker.”

“Yeah, yeah, glad to see that sass isn’t something you lost in the freezing process. So, how are you liking the future? Any questions about anything? Likes, dislikes?”

“Umm, air conditioning is nice. The internet has been very helpful. I thought we’d have flying cars by now though. Howard lied to me.”

“Yeah well, he did that. Join the club. Agent Agent has a flying car though. Not really sure where the hell it came from, some sketchy SHIELD shit I’m sure. Still, it does fly. He won’t let me near it but I think he still worships Cap so if you play the plucky sidekick card you might have a shot. Or I could just build you one. That what you want for your next birthday? A flying car? I could make it Cap themed- red, white, and blue, a horn that plays Star Spangled Man, the whole nine yards. Or maybe assassin themed? Matte black with stealth mode and Gatling guns?”

“You uh, you keep bringing up the assassin thing? It doesn’t bother you, that I killed people? Still kill people? That that’s what I am, a murderer?”

“Murder is a legal definition. When it’s government sanctioned it’s just killing. Trust me on this one, I’ve sued many a reporter over that. Hey, I need to redo some of this wiring. It’s completely fried. Shouldn’t feel too different from earlier but I’m going to have to clip and pull some stuff first. Cool?”

“Yes. Just let me know before you reconnect things. I’ve killed a lot of people though. When I wasn’t being The Soldier I was a sniper. And now, well, I don’t know what I am really. At least a sniper. Doesn’t that matter to you?”

“Of course it _matters_. Taking a life is always important- I don’t care what the circumstances are; if you have a conscience, it changes you, even if it was justified. But kid, you got a raw fucking deal and I refuse to hold that against you. And you would have to do a whole lot worse to even come close to the shit I used to do. So, you know, glass houses and all that.”

“And now I’m going to solder and reconnect these. I’m not applying current yet but if you can tell when the circuits complete, you’ll feel that. Ok?”

“Yeah. I just, I don’t understand. Steve is so happy to have me back that he seems to be ignoring what I did and I guess Romanoff and Barton are used to that sort of work but you really don’t think it was bad?”

“Kid, IT was bad. YOU weren’t. And you didn’t get a choice in the matter so you get a pass for whatever you did while you weren’t _you_. Ask Barton about our policy on brainwashing if you’re unclear about it. And the whole sniper thing doesn’t trouble me if you’re worried about it. You’re on the side of the angels now and I like knowing you have my back. Very reassuring.”

Bucky didn’t understand how Tony was so nonchalant about the whole thing. He was talking about decades of murder, including that of his own parents, like it was just a thing that happened. Like he was a child who had broken something by mistake, not a killer. Still, he was the first person willing to talk about it. Steve seemed afraid to even broach the topic. He tried again.

“Do you know how many people I’ve killed?”

“No, but I can make an educated guess. Bucky Barnes’ kill count was estimated in the low 200s. That was during the war and as far as I know you weren’t out massacring civilians so that falls into the government sanctioned category; no war crimes, no rape or murder so yeah, it takes a toll but it sure as shit doesn’t make you a bad guy. It makes you a soldier. And it should be noted, you were on the right side of history for that one. Fighting for freedom, etc. As the Winter Soldier I think you were credited with nearly 400, although your records were really patchy in some places so we’ll add another, I dunno, 100 or so. But again, you get a pass for those because of the mind control. After that whole helicarrier debacle you went on something of spree taking out Hydra cells. Say another 130 there. Those count but to be honest, most people aren’t going to side with the Nazis who were planning on mass murdering millions of civilians. So we’ll count them but morally, you might get a pass there too. Weight on your soul and all that but really, you made a world a better place as far as I’m concerned. Since you turned up on Steve’s door and started backing us up maybe 15 or so more. Again, bad guys. And see, that’s the thing I like about highly trained snipers, very little collateral damage. No spray and pray with you guys- you tend to only hit the people you mean to hit. So all together let’s call it 900 people.”

Tony lowered his hands and looked Bucky in the eye. “Kid, I’ve made bombs that will kill twice as many people with the push of a button. When you were the Winter Soldier everyone in the intelligence community knew about you. You were the boogeyman for spies. Before Iron Man? I was the Merchant of Death. People living in huts on the other side of the world knew the name Stark because it was written on the side of every weapon I made. That was the last thing they would see before dying. I am the reason entire towns are now smoking craters and my old business partner liked to deal under the table. So not only did _our_ military use my weapons, the people fighting them did too. Shit, the guys who kidnapped me in Afghanistan did it with my own fucking product. I have this,”

He reached up to tap the reactor again,

“Because I made a bomb that sends so much shrapnel out the victims were known as the walking dead. The metal fragments don’t kill right away, they work their way into the heart. Takes about a week to die. My captors decided I was worth more building bombs so they ordered another prisoner, a doctor, to keep me alive. I woke up hooked to a car battery and realized I needed to reevaluate my life choices.”

“You killed people because the world was at war, you were brainwashed, or to topple an evil organization. I killed people it was the family business and I was really fucking good at it.”

Tony paused, shrugged, and went back to work.

“I was also, apparently, a drunk, womanizing scumbag for most of it.” He snorted. “I used to make Pepper chase my one-night stands out in the morning so I didn’t have to talk to them. Just really classy shit.” Tony rolled his eyes. “So, I gotta say, if you’re looking for someone to condemn you for past transgressions, you picked the wrong fucking guy. Hell, if you’re ever willing to talk to people again and you want to feel better about _your_ decision making skills I’ll have Rhodey tell you about the birthday I thought I was dying, well, technically I mean I WAS dying but I’m not now so it’s cool, and I threw a party, got completely wasted in the suit and started a fight with him ON PURPOSE that destroyed my living room in front of a crowd of horrified socialites. It was also not one of my finer moments and that was when I was TRYING to do the right thing.”

Tony straightened up and set his tools down.

“Alright, I think these are fixed but I need to check them. Am I ok to run current through here? It should be a closed system but this stuff has decades of patchwork on it so there might still be a short. I don’t want that to catch you off guard.”

Bucky was just staring at him, mouth slightly agape.

“What, no one told you about my sordid past? I thought you said you found the internet. Fair warning, you might not want to Google me with safe search off. Don’t want to make Steve jealous. Anyhow, current? Arm? Fixing stuff? Yes, no? I didn’t break you did I? Cause Cap will be PISSED if I did.”

Bucky shook his head.

“No, I’m not broken. Well, I mean more broken than I was when I walked in. I just wasn’t expecting all THAT. You’re uh, you can try passing current through, just let me know when it’s going to happen.”

“Righty-o. Count of three like when you get blood drawn. 1, 2, 3, zap.” Tony looked up. “Anything?”

“No, no zapping. It felt like it’s supposed to.”

“Great! Well it looks like everything’s hooked up. Let’s give it a try.” Tony put all his tools down and placed his hands back on the shoulder and elbow like he had earlier.

“I want you lift your arm slowly. Stop and hold if you feel anything out of the ordinary.”

Bucky started to raise the arm. He looked at Tony, who was just staring straight ahead, head tilted, eyes unfocused. He seemed to be concentrating on the way the metal felt under his hands. The arm worked perfectly.

After moving it up and down Tony let go and said, “Well, I didn’t feel that god-awful grinding this time, so there’s a plus. How’s it feel on your end?”

“It feels normal. What was wrong?”

“The wiring was trashed. Half the stuff in there was fried so when you tried to move only some of the signal would get through and only those parts would trigger. The other gears were kinda being dragged along for the ride and were none too happy about it. If you want, if it would help, we can sit down some time and I can map out everything and draw up a full set of schematics. I mean, it is YOUR arm. You should have the user’s manual. What do you think?”

“I would like, I mean, I think that would be good. They never told me anything about it. It wasn’t information the Asset needed to complete his mission, you know?”

“Yeah, I figured. Like I said, real heavy on the demands and torture, not so much on the explanations, that bunch. Anything else you want me to take a look at? Any questions?”

Bucky smiled and flexed the hand. “Did you really make your girlfriend kick out your one-night stands?”

Tony groaned. “Really, that’s what you got from all of this? One, she wasn’t my girlfriend then; she was my assistant. Two, now that she is, no more one-night stands. I’m reformed, thank you very much. But yes, yes I did. I was an ass. She also got their clothes dry cleaned.”

“Oh my god. You were the worst boss ever! Like Hydra, they were bad, but you were TERRIBLE. How _are_ you still alive? Forget terrorists, why haven’t your friends killed you yet?”

“Seriously?! You’ve suddenly decided to acquire a personality and this is what you’re going with? You are a MURDEROUS SPY, I will accept no sass from you. None. Nope. You awful, ungrateful old man. I fixed your arm you have to be nice to me for AT LEAST the rest of the day. Thems the rules.”

It was hard to take Tony seriously when he was trying not to laugh. Bucky put on his best tragic spy face- “You know you’re the first person other than Steve I’ve really talked to, I just, I thought you were different, that maybe you didn’t think I was HIM, but it’s ok, I mean I understand. You look at me and see The Soldier. It’s just, I thought maybe you _wanted_ Bucky Barnes.” Blink, blink. He made his eyes as big as he could and glanced away. Bit his lip.

Tony looked horrified. Bucky tried not to smirk. He failed.

Tony’s expression turned flabbergasted. “Are you PLAYING me right now? Did you just pull sad puppy eyes!? You did!” He pointed, “You, James Buchanan Barnes, are a MENANCE. Forget shooting people, just give them that look and they’ll do themselves in. _Jesus_.” But he smiled and shook his head, chuckling.

“Damn kid, you got me good with that. You pull that shit with Steve? No wonder he’s wrapped around your little finger. You know he gets all defensive when anyone mentions you? He practically vibrates, just waiting to defend your honor. It would be sweet if it weren’t so fucking annoying. Although I’ll admit there’s a certain entertainment value to getting Cap’s panties in a twist. So I gotta ask, now that you’re a Real Boy again, are you going to start socializing with the rest of the team? Because this late-night skulking routine you’ve got going on is creepy. Really, we _know_ you live here. You’re not fooling anyone by sneaking food at 2AM. No one else is going to give you a hard time, I swear. I mean, I’m kinda the designated team asshole and we’re getting along just fine so maybe give it a try?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky replied. “I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

“Who are you going to make uncomfortable? Barton and Romanoff are ALSO murderous spies, and Bruce and Thor are near-invulnerable. Unless you mean uncomfortable because you like to walk around nude or make-out with Steve or something. Though, honestly, not really sure anyone would be bothered by that either, soooo….”

“What do you say? Join us for dinner tomorrow? It’s movie night and Steve insists on real popcorn, no microwaved imitation butter-flavor for America’s Hero, no sirree.”

Bucky still looked apprehensive.

“I know! A friendly wager! I win and you put in an appearance. At least 15 minutes and you have to eat something. It can be a roll for all I care, but it has to be something. You win and you get, I dunno, what you want? More black clothing? A new gun? Whatever. What do say?”

“If I win I get to borrow one of your cars for a month AND you have to wear a Captain America t-shirt and sing Star Spangled Man at the next team meeting.”

“You don’t go to team meetings.”

“I’ll go to this one. See, either way you get me to be more social. It’s win-win.”

“Deal. God, Cap’ll be MORTIFIED. I might do it anyway just to fuck with him. I’ll tell him it’s your idea of a singing telegram. And I would like to thank you for not simply _stealing_ one of my cars like some other assassins who shall remain nameless.”

“Well now that I know that’s an OPTION…”

“Hey! Behave or I’ll put little glowing stars on your arm. No sneaking around when you light up in the dark! Or worse, I’ll tell Steve you’re a sad sack and show him footage of the puppy eyes and he will follow you around looking forlorn FOREVER.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and smiled. “Jackass. You wouldn’t dare, Howard’s ghost, remember? Besides, I’m pretty sure it’s treason to intentionally make Captain America miserable.”

“Meh, I’d get over it. So what do want to bet ON?”

“Darts?”

“With you? Nice try. No. HA. How about arm wrestling? Your fancy Hydra technology against my suit. To make it sporting I won’t even wear the whole thing, just the arm and torso pieces.” Tony smiled and raised an eyebrow. Challenge issued.

“That’s a _terrible_ idea. Fuck it, why not. You break it you have to fix it again though.”

“Only fair. Say best two out of three?”

“Sure.”

“AWESOME. J, SUIT! And we need some better music. At my usual volume if you please!”

“Yes, sir. Might I suggest that this is perhaps not the best idea you have ever had? I am certain Captain Rogers would not approve.”

“Mom doesn’t approve of anything I do and this isn’t even CLOSE to being my worst idea so, chop chop with the armor.”

Bucky had never heard a computer sigh before. Jarvis was like nothing he’d ever encountered but he seemed well liked by the rest of the team. And he was clearly keeping Tony from killing himself so that was something. Bucky jerked as armor came flying in from the back of the workshop. In under a minute Tony was wearing the chest and back pieces and the left arm.

“Oh shit. Lemme close you up first. And we should move to a sturdier table. I don’t want to wind up on the floor because the fucking thing collapsed.” The armor peeled back over his left hand and he made quick work of closing up all the panels. He gestured to the workbench they started at. “This will do just fine.”

“DUMMY! Time-out’s done; get your sorry ass over here.” Tony walked to the other side of the workbench as what looked like an arm on wheels rolled over, chirping. “Yes, yes, you get help but so help me you spray me with another fucking fire-extinguisher and I’m recycling you. Are we clear? No one here is _on fire_. No one here is _going_ to be on fire at any point this afternoon.”

Bucky was looking askance at the new presence at the end of the workbench. “Uh, friend of yours?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah, Bucky Barnes, this is Dummy, he’s useless. Dummy, this is Bucky. Don’t touch him. He’s a no-touching friend, like Natasha. Remember her?”

Dummy chirped then wilted a little. “Yeah, thought so.” He turned to Bucky. “He tried to touch her hair when she came down here during my meltdown a little while back. She was not entertained.”

Dummy gave a low whir, and how an arm could convey sadness Bucky didn’t know, but damned if he wasn’t looking at it right now.

“What? She didn’t actually shoot you. And I keep telling you, no touching new people. They don’t know you like I do.” He looked back over at Bucky, “I made Dummy in grad school. He and I go back. Doesn’t mean I won’t donate you to a community college if you can’t behave.” This last was directed back at the bot.

“Alright, Dummy you are the judge, Jarvis’ll witness and call start.” He leaned in and propped his elbow up in the center of the workbench.

Bucky smiled and leaned in, mirroring his position.

They grasped hands and looked at each other.

“Go.” Jarvis said. Sighed. “And please be careful. I do not want to have to explain this to Captain Rogers and Ms. Potts if something goes wrong.”

Bucky and Tony both leaned in and flexed, well an approximation of flexing, involving some grunting and low whirring from the machinery.

Their hands tightened with a metallic grating.

Neither arm moved.

More grunting and sweating. No movement.

After two minutes Jarvis interrupted. “Sir, Sgt., might I suggest that you appear to be evenly matched? Perhaps you should declare a draw and cease this before one of you pulls something.”

Tony and Bucky made eye contact again and Tony finally lost it and laughed. “Fine! But now we need a new contest. We still have a wager.”

Bucky smirked and said, “shooting? You do have a range.”

“Again, with _you_? Nope. No dice. That’s a sucker’s bet if ever I heard one and don’t think I don’t know you used to hustle people at pool, you goddamned shark.”

“Ah, Sir? What if it was the Sgt.’s skill against your tech? You could use the suit, its weaponry and targeting systems, and he could use whatever he liked at the range, and see who can hit the greatest number of launched objects in a given time period. You could do single and multiple targets. Even if he has an advantage with the former, I suspect the latter will even the playing field. Would that be sufficiently challenging for both of you?”

They looked at each other. Bucky shrugged and nodded. Tony tilted his head and thought for a moment then nodded as well. He said, “Good idea J. Is it clear? I don’t want anyone freaking out if Sparky over here shows up and starting shooting.”

“Yes sir. Agents Coulson, Romanoff and Barton are away; SrA. Wilson is at the VA; Thor is still on vacation with Dr. Foster, and Dr. Banner and Captain Rogers are in the media room watching Mission Impossible. The range is clear and should remain so for the rest of the afternoon.”

“Great. Hey, do I have to stay on the ground for this or is flying allowed?” He looked at Bucky.

“You can fly if you want. I doubt it will help.” Bucky said.

“J, send the rest of the suit. We have a challenge to settle.”

* * *

 

The movie was over before Steve knew it. He glanced over at Bruce and smiled. “Hey, thanks for keeping me company. That wouldn’t have been as entertaining alone.”

 “Any time Steve. Old blockbusters like that always cheer me up. When I was on the run, wherever I was in the world, it seemed like movies like that were still being shown. They were dubbed, often _badly_ ,but they were a link to home. I have fond memories of a lot of really terrible films as a result.” He shrugged and smiled back. “It’s funny what you find to hold onto when you’re far from home.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean. During the war it was always a treat when we were in a major city and there was a cinema. Bucky and I went a couple of times.”

Steve paused and looked up, “Jarvis, are they still in the lab? Is everything okay down there? I kinda figured they’d be done by now.”

Jarvis audibly sighed. “Yes Captain, they are done. No they are not in the lab. They are both fine and are now at the range _settling a bet_.” Steve could actually hear the eyeroll in Jarvis’ answer.

“What!?”

Steve looked to Bruce for guidance. Bruce just shrugged and asked “should we be going down there?”

“Ah, Sir specifically checked to make sure no one else would be at the range today but he stated it was because he didn’t want Sgt. Barnes to spook anyone. I would hazard a guess that he was more concerned the Sgt. would spook if someone showed up though. If you were both to enter quietly and not interfere I suspect you would be able to observe them.”

“If you wished. As I stated, they are both fine. There is minimal need for concern.”

Steve rubbed his head and asked, “Do I want to know what the bet is?”

“They have made a wager as to who can hit more moving targets. The Sgt.’s skill against Sir’s tech.” Pause. “This was my suggestion after the arm wrestling ended in a draw. I thought it would end with the least destruction.”

“Oh god. They were _arm_ wrestling? Please, please tell me it was with their actual _human_ arms?!”

“No Captain, it was not. Do not tell Sir, but I restricted the suit’s strength to avoid injury to either of them.”

“At least someone in that workshop has some sense! Thank you.” Steve looked to Bruce for help but he appeared to be trying not to laugh.

“What? You were worried about Bucky being social. It sounds like he and Tony have found a common interest.”

“Doing stupid things is not an interest I want to encourage.”

“It sounds like this is the least stupid option they could have picked. That’s something, right? Hey, if Bucky can handle Tony maybe he’ll decide he can handle the rest of the team. Tony is like four people’s worth of personality shoved into one. After him even Thor seems mild.”

“Yeah, this was just not how I was expecting today to go. It’s probably fine, just, yeah, unexpected. Well, do you want to go downstairs with me?”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. The Other Guy isn’t really fond of gunfire.”

Bruce stepped up and put a hand on Steve’s arm, “I think this is a good thing. Maybe he’s opening up a little.”

Steve met his eyes for a minute and nodded. “You’re probably right. I guess I’ll find out either way, right?”

Bruce nodded and left. Steve headed for the range.

* * *

 

When Steve got there he could feel the bass through the floor. Jarvis silently opened one of the doors halfway and he stepped through and to the side. He leaned against the wall as the door closed. The music was deafening. Bucky was holding a rifle, standing behind a table covered in guns. Tony was in full armor hovering about five feet up and on Bucky’s right.

“Pull!” Tony yelled.

Suddenly the air was full of little flying balls. Some were red and some blue. Bucky rapidly let off six shots and five of the six blue ones went spinning off towards the back of the range. Tony sent a flurry of tiny flares out and got all six of his red targets.

“Ha! Beat you again!” He crowed.

Bucky flipped him off without looking and hollered, “you’d better, you’re still behind by four.”

“Gentlemen, should we up the numbers again?” Jarvis asked.

“You bet,” Tony replied, “I’m kicking his ass.”

“You need to reload there Lefty?”

“Nope, still got plenty of ammo.”

“Great. PULL!”

This time ten balls of each color are launched. Bucky hits all ten of his. Tony only gets eight.

Tony looks down at Bucky, “Have you been holding out on me, you goddamn cheat? I swear, if you can’t trust an assassin who can you trust?”

Bucky lowered his rifle and smirked up at Tony. “I know something you don’t,” he sing-songed.

“You have, haven’t you? You look like the cat who ate the canary. Go ahead, gloat.”

“I am not left-handed.”

Tony dropped a foot and popped the visor. “That, that was a Princess Bride quote, wasn’t it?”

Bucky just smiled wider.

“Oh, it is ON. And for the record- _I’m not left handed either_.”

They both reset.

“PULL.”

Fifteen this time. Tony got all of his; Bucky got twelve.

“Switching weapons,” Bucky said. They paused for a moment while he set the rifle down and picked up a handgun, checked it, and got back into position. “Ready.”

“Pull.”

Twenty. Tony got eighteen, Bucky fifteen. Based on what they had said earlier Steve figured that brought them up to a tie. This seemed like a good time to interrupt. He stepped away from the wall and cleared his throat.

Jarvis must have told Tony what was going on because he dropped again and said, “Oh shit. Buttercup’s here.”

Bucky started and turned around, relaxing when he saw it was Steve. Steve, who was openly staring at him. Bucky shrugged a little sheepishly and lowered his weapon.

“Ah, I don’t mean to spoil whatever it is you two are doing here, but what the hell _are_ you two doing here? I got worried when I didn’t hear anything and Jarvis said you were settling some sort of bet? Do I even want to know? And I take it the repairs went fine.” This last said dryly directly to Bucky with a raised eyebrow.

Tony responded. “Yes Captain Obvious, the repairs went fine. I told you they would and I am a goddamn professional. Plucky Sidekick here didn’t try to shank me once. And we _were_ trying to settle a bet before we were so rudely interrupted. Did you need something or are you just fulfilling your daily quota of hovering?”

“I wanted to make sure you two were getting along. Now I think I’m going to have to revise the wisdom of leaving you alone together without adult supervision.”

“Aww mom! We had Jarvis; didn’t we J?”

“Yes Sir, as always.”

“See, responsible adult supervision! Besides, I would like it to be noted that I did run a multi-billion dollar business and invented like, half of the shit you use in the field. It’s not like I can’t take care of myself. And the fucking Dread Pirate Roberts over here was the scourge of the intelligence community for decades and makes a hobby of taking out Hydra cells. So I will thank you to not malign our survival skills.”

“ _Pepper_ ran your company. And if you have consumed something today that wasn’t coffee or a smoothie I will eat my shoe. Bucky, the last time you had a head wound you didn’t notice the _blood_ running down your face until I mentioned it. So forgive me for being concerned. Anyway, you both appear to be fine and not about to destroy the tower so I’ll let you go back to whatever _this_ is.”

Tony and Bucky just shared a look and rolled their eyes together. Steve stifled a laugh.

Tony asked Bucky, “Do you want to keep going or just call it a draw? Gentlemen’s agreement to both honor our sides sound good?”

Bucky paused a moment and said, “You know what? Why not.” He smiled as Tony landed and slapped him on the shoulder with a ring of metal on metal. “7?”

“Yeah, looking forward to it. Any requests?”

“Not that I can think of. I’ll tell Jarvis if I come up with any.”

“Great. See you there. Now, go reassure mom that the other kids were nice to you and didn’t take your lunch money.” With that Tony wandered out the doors.

Steve turned to search Bucky’s face as he unloaded and stripped the weapons in front of him. He looked _happy_. It made Steve smile; he leaned in to bump their shoulders together and whispered, “who’s the dread pirate Roberts?”

Bucky just laughed.

* * *

 

The following evening at 6:55 Phil, Natasha, Clint, Bruce, Thor, Sam and Steve were setting out bowls for Clint’s Special Secret Spaghetti when Steve asked, “Do you think we need to remind Tony what time it is?”

“We probably need to remind him what _day_ it is,” Clint muttered.

“No need, Captain. Sir is on his way,” Jarvis replied.

Sure enough, a few minutes later they could hear Tony talking loudly to someone in the hallway. “And then she said, ‘no, _you_ were the one dressed as a nun! I was a vicar.’”

Everyone froze when he walked in gesturing wildly followed by none other than Bucky Barnes. Tony looked around.

“What, no one else has ever gone to a costume party? Ooh, good, spaghetti night! I swear Barton, sometimes I think this is the only reason we keep you around. God knows it’s not because I enjoy finding candy wrappers and lone socks everywhere.”

“You know I found one in the microwave last week, right? I burned them both. You owe me a new microwave.”

Bucky shifted uneasily behind Tony as Steve came over to look at them. The others resumed their tasks, trying not to stare.

Steve turned to Bucky, excitement written clear across his face, “Buck, are you going to join us for movie night? Really?”

Tony rolled his eyes, “No Steve. He’s here by mistake. He didn’t notice all the people and noise because those are things sneaky spy types are prone to missing. He’s actually here looking for Barton’s old sock.”

“Sorry there Lefty but it no longer exists. You wouldn’t have wanted it anyways, I mean unless you were _trying_ to build some new sort of bio-weapon. If that’s the case, my apologies. I’ll put the next one in a containment unit and save it for you.”

“Hey!” Clint hollered, throwing a roll at him. Bucky’s arm snapped out and caught it. He froze for a second and everyone tensed. Tony looked at him and winked. Bucky smiled back and took a bite out of it.

“I believe that fulfills the first half of my bargain. You can’t back out now.”

Tony chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Well, are we all going to stand around all night or are we going to get food and watch the damn movie?”

Steve stuck close to Bucky’s side as he made himself a plate with the rest of the team and they all made their way to the media room. There were already several massive bowls of popcorn spread across the various tables. Bucky looked around and took a spot on the loveseat nearest the door. After a second and a tiny nod from Bucky, Steve sat next to him. Tony dropped into the only chair between them and the door and Steve waited for a reaction but nothing happened. The rest of the team started to settle into their normal spots, Clint and Natasha together across the room with Coulson in a chair to Clint’s left. Bruce sat on his pillow in the middle of the room leaning back against a trunk. Sam, usually where Steve was sitting, looked to Thor and shrugged and they both dropped on opposite ends of the sofa in the center.

“So,” Clint asked, “what’re we watching?”

Tony grinned, “Double feature tonight in honor of our recently thawed comrades- The Princess Bride and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It’s come to my attention that Cap’s never seen either.”

* * *

 

To Steve’s (and everyone's really, other than Tony) surprise the night passed without incident. When Wesley uttered the first “As you wish,” Tony looked over in time to see Steve blush and Bucky grin down at his pasta. Bucky glanced over at “You killed my father, prepare to die.” Tony made sure he had eye contact before throwing an entire handful of popcorn at him. They both chuckled when Steve jumped. Tony’s snort during Jessica Rabbit’s scene earned him his own hurled handful of kernels. Somehow Bucky managed to get the majority of them to go down his shirt.

The rest of the team studiously ignored them.

* * *

 

_Three days later_

** Memo **

To: Tony Stark

From: Phil Coulson

Tony, “but we had a bet” is not a valid reason to interrupt an official team meeting to embarrass Captain Rogers. Neither is “but I wanted to see how badly he would blush” or “but someone sent him a singing telegram.” While it is appreciated that you were able to persuade Sgt. Barnes to attend this meeting, please confine all future attempts to do so to methods which are less disruptive. I am hereby forbidding any wagers between you and Sgt. Barnes which require the losing party to “settle up” during official Avengers activities. This list of activities includes, but is not limited to: team meetings, debriefings, and press conferences.

\--Coulson

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Unofficially, I would like to extend my thanks for your efforts to acclimate Bucky to the team. I also feel it is necessary to inform you that whatever you may believe you do NOT, in fact, have perfect pitch. However, Barton does._

_\--Phil_

 

 


End file.
